I didn't know liking the Mayor and voting for him gives his voters rock star treatment too! Quite amazing how fast the personal attacks start flying when someone disagrees.
It's off topic so I just feed this for consideration, don't forget about the corruption and damage Harper & Co. have done so far - and thanks Stephen for inserting us into the Syrian mess. Oh, and don't move too far west, between the oil sands, rising oceans and fracking there won't be much left before you hit middle age.
I haven't forgotten, and just because I like Ford and vote for him, doesn't mean I like and vote for the Harper government. Why does everyone assume that people who vote for Ford give a crap about the federal conservatives?
The video was seized as part of evidence in Project Traveller. Several reports have stated the video has been viewed by multiple defence attorneys. The man who made the video tried to use it to broker a plea deal. Because you haven't seen it yet doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Was Siad going to hope the crown never watched the blank DVD he was hoping would get him out of jail? Would the TPS bother investigating Lisi and Price for obstruction of justice for attempting to procure the video if it wasn't real? Why would gangsters on a line they did not know was tapped talk about a video with Ford smoking crack before the story broke with Gawker? Enough circumstantial evidence exists to be more certain that the video existed/exists, then doesn't.
To your point about being photographed with three gang members (one of whom is dead). It was taken in front of a known crack house owned by a childhood friend who Ford is reputed to go on drug binges with. This pic wasn't snapped at Taste of the Danforth. It was taken during a private moment in the Mayor's life when he was on a bender, using drugs supplied by their gang. The photo isn't the only evidence that Ford hangs with criminal elements. His driver/dealer/fixer Lisi is a known woman abuser who bragged about supplying Ford with drugs. How can you not see a pattern here?
While it is good to know that when the video is seen by the public you will finally stop defending the indefensible, it concerns me that given all the reporting from all 4 major Toronto newspapers, you seem to think that the story has been stuck in limbo all this time. While people are still talking about the video, we are also talking about the Mayor's criminal entourage, his brother's past drug dealing, his office's potential role in obstructing justice and many other serious nuggets. You think people should overlook this stuff cause the crack video didn't make to youtube yet?
This is the whole thing, everything is based on a "video" that has only CLAIMED to have existed. Just because someone says something exists, doesn't mean it it exists. There is no UFO's in Area 51, no unicorns, or Sasquatch, etc. So enough with pretending something exists based on no ACTUAL evidence. I'm sorry but word of mouth is not evidence.
As soon as some actual evidence arises, then I will be human and judge. What ever happen to "Innocent until proven guilty"? It applies to murders and rapists, but nope not Ford, he's an automatic crack head because someone said so.
How's the view up there on that high horse? I can barely see you from down here.
Ford is about as fake as any other politician, the only difference is that he doesn't have the polished veneer of the average politician. And to say that he's better than the average politician stretches it- have you seen the truths he and Doug say? They're about as stretched as carnival toffee, and riddled with the vitrol they enjoy using to poison civil debate. There can no longer be a discussion about biking without declarations of "a war on the car", or a new civic program rolled out without cries of "Waste!". He's personable- which is much appreciated in a politician, but is he a good leader?
And really, does he care about a subway outside of getting votes? Why did did he fap around for three years instead of making the most of his connections to get some federal funding early on? Why didn't he cut some of the alleged waste or raise taxes to get the money needed?
Don't get started about council or unions blocking him- he had enough support early on to do most of these things. Basic fact: Ford doesn't really care about subways in Scarborough- he just wants you to vote for him.
Get back on topic, the Liberals suck but that's another story. I would personally not mind voting for a fiscal conservative who knows when to spend and when to save, but Ford is clearly not one- he's a populist though and through.
I never said he is better than the average politician, he's just better then the ones that were being thrown at the ballot sheet.
You must live in a remote part of Scarborough.
There is a difference between a knowledgeable and physical age.
This quasi rant does indeed show that you are a child, and one that fancies pointing a finger with righteous indignation. When you were just a youngin, the Harris Conservatives made quite the mess of things, you should compare the ups and downs before calling for the ax man.
If you are only concerned with the present, then look at the senate, F-35, and misuse of taxpayer money for personal use by the PMO and MPs.
And lastly, this is a forum on Ford and the city, so we should be concerning ourselves with the topics at hand such as drug use.
Thank you for your caring response, although I was a youngin during the Harris times, I do have parents, and they were around that time, so yes I know what the horrendous Harris government did, but that does NOT excuse the current Liberal government from their eHealth, Orange, and Gas Plants scandals, that is a LOT of money wasted, a LOT.
I am concerned with the present, and the future, because the past is behind us and not coming back. And in the present, the Liberals are corrupt, and in the future if they are not unseated, they will be even more corrupt. The Harris from the past isn't going to come back and cause harm to us now... Get real, Harris is irrelevant.
As for on-topic, I was on topic, it was just a little rant at the end and it still is related.
The thing about these board-posting "angry Scarberians", whether they be in their mid-20s and otherwise, is that I get a sense of their being, well, crap Scarberians who're an offputting insult to their own domain. Like, it isn't just a matter of HaveLove not *majoring* in History; he probably has very little comprehension of the, well , history, culture, etc in his own back yard, i.e. Scarborough as a place with a history, with stories, a place of richness rather than of "us vs the outside world" desolation and pathology. Or else, to him that history/stories/richness detail is "the silliest of issues".
So he's another guy who'd likely fail the "who's Doris McCarthy test". In which case, if he leaves the province before 30, good riddance. Better that than tasteless idiots like him demolishing 50s-contemporary Orton Park or Birkdale Heights bungalows for McMansions, or smothering them in EIFS...
You can talk directly to me, instead of talking about me in third person to your group-think buddies. I am far from angry, I am the happiest man alive, we have Ford as mayor don't forget. Maybe you are the angry one for him being Mayor lol. Please stop acting like Scarborough is a different city, we pay the same taxes, so we should be able to enjoy the same stuff as the people downtown. Scarborough is great but it doesn't mean we should be stuck here unless we want to spend 3-4 hours in travelling by transit. I don't know what tasteless idiots you are referring to, but I can assure you they are not "like me".
It amuses me that you show up on this forum, accuse us all of being "not HUMAN" and then cry "TROLL!!" when somebody responds to you.
So basically your argument is that you stopped following the story months ago and aren't aware of any of the recent revelations but since the video hasn't appeared yet it must all be untrue. That's some excellent willful ignorance.
Look I agree that the video hasn't surfaced yet and that's an issue. But the idea that it never existed flies in the face of all reasonable logic. The police say they know about the video. Mark Towhey has told the police that people in Ford's office were looking for the video. (Even the Toronto Sun has printed this and have you noticed he's never denied it? He's even admitted publicly that he initiated contact with the police).
At this point, in order for the crack scandal to be false it would require that three major newspapers (including the SUN) are all involved in a conspiracy together while fabricating evidence and sources and quotes completely out of thin air. Do you believe that to be the case? Yes or No.
If that is the way you translated my wording, kudos to you. Yes, I stopped following the "story that never changed", because every recent revelation is just theory, there is still no proof not even a hint of it. In order for the crack scandal to be true, there would have to be some kind of non-circumstantial evidence which still doesn't want to poke his little head out.
As for the newspapers, they are just selling stories! The same story over and over again mind you, but selling stories nonetheless. They aren't doing anything wrong, because they aren't saying anything is true either. They are just reporting the "allegations" and "he said she said" stuff. Read closely, you will notice that the story you read everyday is the same story with slightly changed wording. It's been nauseating to read the major papers this summer.
I guess you must be raging like mad at the huge debt the federal conservatives have saddled everybody in this country with. I want to see which province you will move to, to escape that debt.
Damn right I am, that's why I don't vote federal conservatives. I will likely move out east, where people are nicer and politics a little less aggressive. People out east can disagree and still have coffee together, not insult intelligence behind a computer screen based on disagreement.
wow, i don't think i've ever come across anyone on this forum as "desperate to impress" as you. you're trying incredibly hard to be all clever and cutting, but you have absolutely no idea how to do it. REALLY painful to read. please consult 'Sarcasm for Dummies' before you post again.
If I was trying to impress anyone, don't you think I wouldn't be anonymous? I'm not looking for friends here, I'm looking for real discussion. If anything you're desperate to impress your group-think cronies and jump the bandwagon flaming someone who is a Ford voter and doesn't agree with you, pathetic on your part.
And to go back to this HaveLove quote
I don't want to be snarky here, but...if it's about "spending your money", why do you absolutely *need* to go downtown? Isn't a lot of that Eaton Centre-type fare already at close hand at Scarborough Town Centre, or Golden Mile-style big box nucleii? I mean: sure, we're not *discouraging* you; but if it's such a pain for you to get down there, why not minimize your downtown time and stick close to home--it's the good and prudent thing to do. Only go downtown if there's something you *absolutely* need that you can *only* get there, much as downtowners might make the reverse Zipcar commute to Ikea or wherever.
Otherwise, w/statements like that, you're feeding Scarborough's inferiority complex, not alleviating it. If you're such a proud Scarberian, take maximum advantage of your own turf, and make the most of it, it's your "nabe", after all. And furthermore, if you're such an anti-governmental-tax-and-spend type, you shouldn't *have* to depend upon suckling municipal welfare a la subways-subways-subways in order to pursue those ends. Taking maximum prudent advantage of what already exists, practice a little Scarborough Pride (no, not in the rainbow-flag sense), and you might even draw those dreaded downtowners your way, sharing in the pride...
Because we pay the same taxes as you do so we deserve access to the same stuff you do, and there is a lot more to do Downtown and a lot of beautiful things to see. I've lived in Scarborough all my life, I've already experienced everything here. The STC is the worst mall ever, mentioning the EC was just an example, walking around downtown on the streets is a good shopping experience too, but if your from Scarborough, shopping downtown is a field trip instead of a shopping trip.
Scarborough wants equality, not more privileges, don't get it twisted.
